Let’s dive right into the Sola Scriptura.  We start off in Matthew 21:18-22:

18 In the morning, as Jesus was returning to Jerusalem, he was hungry, 19 and he noticed a fig tree beside the road. He went over to see if there were any figs, but there were only leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” And immediately the fig tree withered up.

20 The disciples were amazed when they saw this and asked, “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” 21 Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. 22 You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.”

We see Jesus was returning from Jerusalem and was hungry.  He takes notice of a nice, green, fig tree beside the road.  He goes over to it only to find it has no figs.  He looks at the tree and curses it saying, “May you never bear any fruit again,” and right there the tree withered up immediately.

His disciples were surely amazed and asked, “How did you get the tree to wither up so quickly?”  So Jesus goes on to explain to them that with the smallest amount of faith, you can say to that mountain move over there and it will.  You can pray for anything and if you have faith you will receive it.

The message today is not going to be about faith, it’s about producing fruit.  If we as Christians are not producing fruit then we too are as worthless as the fruitless fig tree. We read in Matthew 7:17-20:

“Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. 16 You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? 17 A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. 18 A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. 19 So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. 20 Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.”

Do you see the importance of producing Spiritual Fruit for the Lord?  For if we do not, if we just go through life becoming stagnant, producing nothing, then we are just like the figless tree and the spirit of God does not dwell in us.  We were made to serve Him.  When we get baptized in Christ and the Holy Spirit descends on us, that spirit wants to serve God.  That spirit yearns for Spiritual Fruit.  It is the flesh and sin that causes us to be dormant.  If we are nonfruit bearing Christians than we need to rekindle the fire within us, we need to bear fruit.  Spiritual Fruit is what?  You just may be asking this, if that’s the case let me serve it to you right from the Word of God.

Galatians 5:22-23

22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

If we are to assume the role of a fruit-bearing tree, we will shine and be full of light.  We will be loving and love others.  We will display a joyful spirit so that it rubs off on others. Our lives will be filled with peace, a peace that surpasses all understanding.  We will bear with everyone with the hopes of planting seeds and bringing the good news.  We will be kind to others, helping people, and doing good, even to those who wish us harm.  We will love our enemies and be faithful to Jesus and His call, obeying His Word.  We will be gentle in all circumstances, showing who we belong to and that is Jesus Christ.  We will display self-control, especially when faced with the temptations of sin.

This is how we will be known just as it says in Sola Scripture.  We are known by our fruit or we will be recognized by our fruit.  As a Christian, it is our fruit that makes up who we are.  Either we bear good fruit or we don’t.  If we don’t then we will wither away and perish.

If we Christians want to proclaim Christ, that is to say, we have accepted this whole concept of accepting that He is our Savior and he died for our sins, then we must believe and obey.  If we have made the decision to die to our flesh and become alive in Christ then a spiritual fruit bearer we must be…period.

We have to stand out just.  Imagine a bunch of fruitless orange trees and there stands just one with beautiful, colorful, oranges.  Now you have to admit that stands out really clearly.

How about the reversed effect? A grove of beautiful orange tree full of vibrant oranges and there in the middle is just one withered with no oranges. What is the farmer going to do? Yes, cut it down and burn it.

Too many Christians are figless.  They think they have figs, but in reality, they do not.  Just by going to church and hearing a message, does this make you a Christian?  No, it does not.  By saying to someone that you are a Christian; does this make you a Christian? No, it does not.  By serving at the church on Sundays, does this make me a Christian?  Again, it does not. Well, then what does make you a Christian?

John 3:36 “And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life, but remains under God’s angry judgment.”

First things first, we are called to believe and that would make us a believer in Christ.  Second, we are called to obey and that makes us obedient.  A true follower of Christ a.k.a. a Christian is an obedient believer, one who follows Jesus, trusts in Jesus, does His will and not their own, does the things that are pleasing to God, worships Him, and serves Him.

We see the term Christian used in Acts 11:26 “When he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. Both of them stayed there with the church for a full year, teaching large crowds of people. (It was at Antioch that the believers were first called Christians.)” Acts 26:28 Agrippa interrupted him. “Do you think you can persuade me to become a Christian so quickly?” and in 1 Peter 4:16 “But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by his name!”

The believers doing the will of our Heavenly Father in Antioch were first called Christians.  Barnabas and Saul were with the church there for 1 year teaching large crowds.

When Paul was speaking to King Agrippa, Agrippa asked him, “Do you think you can persuade me to become a Christian so quickly?”

Paul replied, “Whether quickly or not, I pray that you and everyone that was there at the time might become the same as I am.”

Paul says to be a Christian, you must become like him and we all know that God has a special calling on Paul.  I mean he did write a good portion of the Bible and not to mention from jail.  I think Paul is a great role model for the Christian standard.  A selfless, devoted, humble servant of Jesus Christ, dedicated to His call and denying himself…a true Christian.